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L.A. COUNCIL MEMBERS BOOST SUPPORT FOR HOMELESS
VETERANS -- Introduced a resolution supporting
federal
legislation that would prohibit any commercial
use and
development of VA property in West L.A.
The battle for the VA's land continues in L.A.
Background here...
http://vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfMAY07/nf052007-4.htm
Story here...
http://www.surfsantamonica.com/
ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2007/May-
2007/05_24_07_LA_Council_Members_Boost
_Support_for_Homeless_Vets.htm
Story below:
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LA Council Members Boost Support for Homeless Vets
By Lookout Staff
In a move to help boost housing for local homeless veterans and curb
overdevelopment, two LA City Council members introduced a resolution
Wednesday supporting federal legislation that would prohibit any
commercial use and development of the Veterans Affairs property in West
LA.
Backed by LA Council members Bill Rosendahl and Jack Weiss, the
resolution supports legislation requiring the Veterans' Administration
to include special leasing provisions to provide services for homeless
veterans and their families under a comprehensive master plan for use of
the federal land.
The legislation specifically ensures that the Department of Veterans
Affairs does not deem any land as excess, and does not take action to
“exchange, trade, auction, transfer, or otherwise dispose of, or reduce
the acreage of the VA property,” according to Rosendahl’s office.
The legislation would help to protect the Westside from overdevelopment,
increased traffic gridlock and the loss of much-needed veterans' land,
Rosendahl and Weiss said.
"The Westside is at a boiling point,” said Rosendahl, who represents the
11th District, which surrounds Santa Monica. “We are continuously
besieged by overdevelopment and traffic gridlock and cannot allow for
piecemeal land-use decisions.
"The VA property is intended for veteran use, not private development,”
he said.
Introduced by Congressman Henry Waxman and Senator Dianne Feinstein, the
West Los Angeles Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Preservation Act of 2007 bans the Department of Veterans Affairs from
selling any portion of the federal property for private use and entering
into enhanced-use leases on the land.
Developers have been eyeing the 388-acre campus -- on the north and
south sides of Wilshire Boulevard west of the 405 freeway -- as a
financial windfall if they can tear down the existing buildings and
develop million dollar condominiums on the prime Westside real estate.
Nearby homeowners have mounted a lobbying effort opposing the plan to
house homeless vets and provide services. They fear the housing will be
reserved for the chronically homeless and that addicts will be allowed
admittance into the center without the proper treatment required for
detoxification.
Santa Monica City Council member Bobby Shriver, who has spearheaded the
effort to set aside three buildings on the VA grounds for homeless
housing and services, is hopeful the plan is gaining momentum.
“It is a crime to have veterans -- an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 of them
-- living on Los Angeles County streets while buildings stand unused or
underused on land that was donated for the exclusive benefit of
veterans,” Shriver told The Lookout in an interview earlier this month.
Shriver recently participated in a West LA Veterans’ Forum, along with
U.S. Representatives Jane Harman and Bob Filner, who chairs the U.S.
House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, which controls the VA’s budget.
“He pledged to urge the VA to designate the three buildings for homeless
housing right away, or, if necessary, introduce legislation to have it
done,” Shriver said. “We are hopeful for success soon.”
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Larry Scott
